“You have me working overtime, Superintendent,” he reproached her, with a mischievous frown that quickly dissolved into a smile. Setting aside the papers he’d been hunched over, he motioned for her to come in. Seeing Marini, he nodded in acknowledgment. Though he’d only had a few seconds to study him, he could have easily described all his features; it was his job after all, and he did it with the living as much as with the dead.

“I wanted you on this,” was all Teresa said, and already those few words revealed so much: the complexity of this case, the peculiarities that bothered her, and her need to confer with an analytical mind capable of seeing what she saw.

“Let’s go,” said the coroner. “He’s waiting for us.”

The body was laid out on a steel bed and covered with a white sheet that smelled of soap. Parri always treated his guests with respect and consideration. Teresa had once seen him request a fresh sheet to replace a stained one; the corpse wouldn’t have minded either way, but Antonio knew the relatives cared. He didn’t just know; he understood, which was even more important. His presence made the place seem less oppressive, and he dignified it with his humanity.

The victim’s widow had identified the body a few hours earlier while it was still inside a body bag deep in the woods. They knew his name now, but not his story or anything about its untimely ending.

“We’ve done all the usual tests,” Parri explained. “Blood tests, swabs, fingernail scrapes . . . Now there’s just the autopsy left to conduct while we wait for the results.”

He uncovered the body.

Teresa nodded, gazing at the corpse. There were strips of gauze covering the eye sockets. Another act of mercy.

“No signs of sexual activity prior to death. The facial wounds are deep and point to a violent, brutal motion. My view is that there was no weapon involved. He did it with his bare hands, and even left some fingerprints.”

Teresa saw Marini shudder. He’d been standing back, craning his neck every now and then to take a closer look at the body.

“It won’t bite,” she said. “Come here and take a proper look.”

Inspector Marini obeyed, but he moved stiffly, and evidently had no idea how to behave—Teresa could tell from the way the young officer seemed suddenly uncomfortable in his own skin. He didn’t know where to place his hands, how to move his feet, what to do with himself.

“I’m not familiar with this sort of thing,” he confessed. “I won’t be of much help.”

“You’re not familiar with murder? Then you’d better find yourself a new job, or start learning.” Teresa shifted her attention back to Parri. “Do you mean to say he carved the eyes out with his fingers?”